Aneurysm

(Versionfranaisedisponible) Whatisananeurysm? Ananeurysmisabulgeorballooningofaweakenedwallofabloodvessel.Ifthebulge stretchestoofar,itmayleakortear(rupture). Aneurysmsaremostcommonintheaorta,themainbloodvesselthatcarriesbloodfrom thehearttotherestofthebody.Whenaruptureoccursintheaorta,itcausesheavy bleeding.Thesuddenheavybleedingcausesshockandoftenrapiddeath. Whenananeurysminanarteryofthebrainruptures,itcausesastroke. Howdoesitoccur? Itisnotknownforsurewhyaneurysmsoccurinsomepeopleandnotothers.Peoplewith thegreatestriskaremenoverage55.Aneurysmsareamongthetop10causesofdeathin thisagegroup.Menare5timesmorelikelytohaveabdominalaorticaneurysmsthan women.Brainarteryaneurysmsaffectbothmenandwomenofallages.Aneurysmsmay becausedorworsenedby: Arteriosclerosis(hardeningofthearteries) Birthdefectsthataffectthestructureofthevesselwall Highbloodpressure Infection Injuries Smoking Diseasessuchasinfectiveendocarditis,Kawasaki'sdisease,Marfansyndrome, rheumatoidarthritis,Reiter'ssyndrome,ankylosingspondylitis,andothers,maycause aneurysmsinmanypartsofthebody. Whatarethesymptoms? Aneurysmsdonotalwayscausesymptoms.Theyareoftennoticedduringroutinemedical exams.Manyarefoundduringdiagnosticproceduresforotherproblems. Symptomsdependonwherethebulgeis.Apulsatingsensationmaybefelt.Painiscaused fromthepressureonsurroundingorgans. Ananeurysminthebrainmaycausevisionproblemsorheadaches. Ananeurysminthechestmayaffectswallowingormightcausechestpainifitpresseson thelungs. Anabdominalaorticaneurysmmightcausepaininthebackorthegroin.Mostpeopleare unawareofananeurysmuntilitbeginstoleakorrupture,andthentheydescribethepain assevereortearing.

 Howisitdiagnosed? Severalkindsoftestsmaybeused: Angiogram(xraysoftheinsideofbloodvessels) CTscan MRIscan Spinaltap(tocheckforbloodinthecerebrospinalfluid,whichcanbecausedbya rupturedaneurysminthebrain) Ultrasoundscan Xrays Howisittreated? Asmallaneurysmmaybemonitoredovertimetoseeifitgetsbigger.Yourhealthcare providermayprescribehighbloodpressuremedicinetoreducethepressureofblood againstthearterialwalls.Iftheaneurysmcontinuestogrow,orbeginstocause symptoms,yourhealthcareprovidermaywantyoutohavesurgery. Theriskofruptureincreaseswiththesizeoftheaneurysm.Ananeurysmintheaorta cangrowtothesizeofanorangebeforeitruptures.Onethirdofaorticaneurysmsthat arelargerthan2incheswidewillrupturewithin5years.Theriskofdyingfroman aorticaneurysmafteritrupturesisabout90%.Ruptureofananeurysmisamedical emergency. Largeraneurysmsareusuallytreatedwithsurgery.Discusstheadvantagesand disadvantagesofsurgerywithyourhealthcareprovider. Howlongwilltheeffectslast? Mostaorticaneurysmsgrowslowly.Overmanyyears,thewallsslowlystretchand enlargelikeaballoon.Anormalaortaisaboutaswideandastoughasagardenhose.If theaneurysmdoesnotgrowmuch,youmaylivewithasmallaneurysmforyears. Successfulsurgeryusuallyresultsinfullrecovery.Anynewsymptomsshouldbe quicklyreportedtoyourhealthcareprovider.Aneurysmsgenerallydonotcomeback aftersurgery,unlessyouhaveoneoftheunusualdiseasesthatcauseaneurysmsin manypartsofthebody. Whatcanhelppreventananeurysm? Haveyourbloodpressureandbloodcholesterolcheckedregularly. Ifyousmoke,quit.Tellyourhealthcareproviderifyouneedhelpquitting. Ifyouareoverweight,talktoyourprovideraboutlosingweight. Exerciseregularlyaccordingtotherecommendationsofyourprovider. Switchtoalowfat,lowcholesterol,highfiberdiet.Yourprovideroradieticiancantell youwhichfoodstoavoid. Ifyourproviderapproves,takeanaspirinaday.However,checkwithyourprovider first.Theremaybereasonswhyyoushouldnottakeaspirin.Yourprovidermay prescribeothermedicinesthatcanslowtheprogressofarterydisease.

DevelopedbyMcKessonProviderTechnologies. PublishedbyMcKessonProviderTechnologies. Copyright2006McKessonCorporationand/oroneofitssubsidiaries.AllRights Reserved. Thiscontentisreviewedperiodicallyandissubjecttochangeasnewhealthinformation becomesavailable.Theinformationisintendedtoinformandeducateandisnota replacementformedicalevaluation,advice,diagnosisortreatmentbyahealthcare professional. HealthLink811ReviewedJune2009byClinicalServicesWorkingGroup 36001Aneurysm